A border tax that President Donald Trump administration is considering to implement would make American businesses less competitive, the U.S.' second biggest energy company Chevron's CEO John Watson said Thursday.
"I want to see the U.S. competitive, not burdening imports," he said, adding that a border tax would increase prices of imported goods and hurt American consumers.
"The principle is to make American businesses more competitive ... It's not good to shut down foreign goods," he said.
Trump promised during his campaign and after taking office that he would impose 45 percent tax on imports from China, and a 35 percent tariff on goods imported from Mexico.
The administration also stated during the president's first week in the White House that a 20 percent tax could be applied on Mexican imports to pay for the construction of Trump's proposed wall along the border of the two countries.
Watson emphasized that the U.S.' upstream oil segment still depends on global supply chains, and a higher tax rate on American oil corporations would make it difficult for them to compete with foreign energy companies.
"We have the globally integrated supply chains. I have been a free market advocate for a long while, and I want the U.S. to be more competitive," he said.
Trump also promised to introduce a comprehensive tax reform plan that would lower taxes on the middle-class, and decrease the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15-20 percent range.
This plan was well accepted by American companies and the U.S. stock market, in which indexes were posted of more than 10 percent gains since Trump's election.
Watson stated that he supports the tax reform plan, and said, "Our tax code is not competitive."
"There is bipartisan support for tax reform. The industry has been waiting for tax reforms for the past decade," he added.
By Ovunc Kutlu in Houston, Texas
Anadolu Agency